Property prices may be lower, but 2024 has already seen green shoots in the form of higher demand and greater sales volumes.
According to Zoopla, UK house price inflation is -0.8 per cent in January.
On a regional basis, the largest price falls were in the East of England (-2.5 per cent) and the South West (-2.2 per cent).
Northern Ireland bucked the trend with house prices up 3.2 per cent over 2023.
In London prices fell by 1.1 per cent over the last 12 months.
It’s firmly a buyer’s market, said Zoopla, with a fifth of sellers having to accept more than 10 per cent below the asking price to secure a sale, closer to one in four across southern England.
Green shoots
Despite the dip in property prices, 2024 has started positively with demand, supply and sales all up, said Zoopla.
It noted a ‘strong seasonal rebound’ in sales activity in the first weeks of January, with sales agreed up 13 per cent year on year.
Demand from buyers is also up, by 12 per cent, and there are 20 per cent more homes for sale than a year ago.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “It’s a positive start to the year with all key measures of housing activity higher than a year ago. The fall in mortgage rates has led to a rebound in buyer demand and sales following a weaker second half of 2023 when many movers put decisions on hold.
“This improvement in activity will support sales volumes which, at one million, reached an eleven year low in 2023. We don’t see these trends as a precursor to higher prices in 2024 as it remains a buyer’s market.
“Sellers looking to move should be encouraged by these early signals of activity but buyers remain price sensitive and focused on value for money. Over-optimism by sellers could quickly stall the current improvement in market activity.”
